This year, we are sponsoring the Needlework competitions at the Red River Valley Fair. There are many categories to enter, including shawls, socks, sweaters, and many more. Fair entries should have been made in the last year and should not have been worn or used prior to the fair.

Visit the fair’s website for all the rules and details, as well as the entry form. The entry form needs to be completed and turned in by June 30. Entries can be dropped off at the fairgrounds on July 8. Judging will take place on July 9. Entries must be picked up on July 16.

Eileen. Congratulations on winning the Mother’s Day drawing for this Namaste bag!

Today is the first day of our new sock club. The fee for a six-month membership is $25 and includes

• notification of new sock yarn
• 25% off one sock class
• 10% off one skein of sock yarn per month
• free sock help class once a month
• a laminated membership card, which you’ll need to present to receive your discounts
• free pattern that will help you use your leftover sock yarn.

We have new sock yarn available for club members to purchase, including yarn from Froebe Fibers, Farmhouse Yarns, and Cascade Yarns.

You can sign up for sock club online or in the shop. It’s worth it just to get first dibs on your favorite colors!

Do you have some lonely socks that long for a mate? Do you have a sock that has been on the needles for so long that you can’t remember when you started it? Or are you looking for some inspiration to begin knitting socks? Join us for Second Sock Summer. Here’s how it works.

Beginning on July 1, you can sign up with the number of individual socks you plan to complete by the last day of summer, September 20. You can complete socks already in progress, make the second sock of a pair, or start a new pair. When you reach your goal, bring in your completed socks, and we’ll enter you into a drawing for two skeins of pink Spud & Chloe Fine sock yarn, a 9″ size US 2 bamboo circular needle, and a free membership to our new sock club, which begins in the fall.

You may enter the drawing one time for each sock you complete, but only when you’ve met your goal. If you exceed your goal, you can enter for each additional sock you finish. All socks must be fully finished–toes grafted, ends woven in–to be counted toward your goal.If you’re just getting started with socks, we’ll have a Beginning Socks class in July, as well as Christmas stockings in August. If you’d like to knit with friends, we’ll have open sock knitting on Thursdays, July 7 and 21 and August 4 and 18 from 5:30 to 7:00.

You’ll want to knit the socks you have started so that you’re ready for all the big sock plans we have for this fall, including new yarns, new dyers, and a new sock club.

You’ve seen corn yarn at Fiberfest and Yarnover. Next week, you’ll have a chance to see it at Prairie Yarns. Meg and Paul from Corny Goodness will be visiting us next Thursday, June 23 from 3-8pm to show us this great new yarn that has many amazing properties.

Corn yarn is made from Ingeo, a biopolymer made from fermented corn sugars. The Ingeo fiber is sent to Benson, MN, where Meg and Paul dye it and ply it. The yarn is hypoallergenic, odor resistant, breathable, machine washable, and made from a renewable resource. Garments made from corn yarn get stronger as they’re washed.

We will have several items made from Corny Goodness yarn on display starting on Monday. Meg will have some free patterns available with purchase of her yarn, including the corn sprout baby hat and socks, and the corn bag.

This is a one-time-only event, so make sure to come in next week to see the new frontier in fiber technology. Meg and Paul are only able to take cash or checks, so please plan accordingly.